Balloons Will Show Height of Planned Billboards

Look up to the sky along Forest Street and Route 95 on Thursday and may get an idea of the height of two billboards planned on property owned by the Salem Country Club.

The Salem News reported that Total Outdoor Corp. wants to erect two 80-foot poles along Route 95. At the request of the City Council, the company will float balloons at the sites to show the height of the billboards that are proposed.

The News reported that Ward 5 Councilor Joel Saslaw got the idea from a similar cell tower test in Wenham.

Another firm, 71 Newbury Street Properties, also agreed to use balloons to show the height of digital billboards planed on Route 1 at 131 and 151 Newbury St., which is next to Best Gas and behind the Golden Banana. The company is looking to build double-sided 90-foot billboards at those locations, reported the News.

Billboards have become a hot topic in Peabody. The most controversial billboard is on Lowell Street along Route 95. The city and Total Outdoor Corp. have been involved in a legal battle over that 92-foot billboard.  

Mayor Ted Bettencourt recently backed a billboard moratorium and said the billboards in Peabody have “reached a point of saturation.”

Read the full Salem News article. 

Here is previous coverage on the billboard issue: